


Cowboys

by sklbug15



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Insecure Castiel (Supernatural), M/M, Mutual Pining, Roommates, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-21
Updated: 2020-08-21
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:13:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26030197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sklbug15/pseuds/sklbug15
Summary: Based off a prompt about soulmate marks.Someone has a mark on their face that tells everyone that the first time their soulmate will touch them will be a slap.Dean Winchester hates his soulmate mark. Everyone just knows the first time his soulmate will touch him will be a hard slap across his face.Castiel knows people think he's weird. Enough of them have pushed him away over the years. Still he can't stop himself from falling for his roommate even if he knows one day Dean Winchester too will push him away and he will have to deal with another heartbreak.
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester
Comments: 5
Kudos: 265





	Cowboys

**Author's Note:**

> So obviously a story like this would make the most sense to have the soulmate mark on Dean's shoulder like in the tv show. But because of the prompt about a slap, the handprint is on his face.  
> Please enjoy anyways.

Most of the time the black mark was on people’s hands, indicating a handshake or an accidental brush of fingers. Sometimes it was a mark on someone’s arm indicating a brush of bodies passing each other. Rarely was it on other body parts. The one thing that was consistent? Everyone had one. Everyone knew where their soulmate would touch them for the very first time.  
Dean Winchester hated his mark. He loathed it. People knew just by looking at him how his soulmate would touch him for the first time. And it wouldn’t be some accidental brush of the hands. No, because Dean was never that lucky.  
It was obvious to the entire world that the first time Dean Winchester’s soulmate would touch him would be a hard slap across his face.  
The handprint was on the left side of his face and it extended just under Dean Winchester’s left eye down to his chin and up toward his hairline. At first when he was young he didn’t give it much thought. Not until he noticed the way the adults responded to it. There were a few times he tried to use makeup to cover it up, but everyone could still see it underneath so he threw out the concealer. 

Dean jumped when he heard the knock echo through his front hall. He took in a deep breath before he rose from his chair. He had to pause, had to try to stop his hands from trembling before he greeted the stranger at the door. He hated meeting new people, especially now considering he was trying to find a new roommate. He never knew how someone would react to his mark.  
The doorknob was cool to the touch as he opened it. Blue eyes met his and he found himself relaxing under the stare.  
Castiel Novak.  
“Dean Winchester,” the man’s head tilted to the side as he stared at Dean. His voice was deeper than expected. His eyes didn’t hover over the mark on Dean’s face.  
This surprised Dean. Most people couldn’t help themselves. He could see the look in their eyes, the assumptions they made. In fact, Cas, was probably the first person in awhile that didn’t stare, didn’t have pity in his eyes. His eyes were too busy gazing into Dean’s own.  
Dean took a step back silently inviting this man in. 

Castiel knew he was considered weird by most people. There were no other excuses for it. He wasn’t raised in a cult or anything like that. It was him. When he was younger, he had tried to fit in, tried to make friends. It was hard though when he’d had several people whom he thought were his friends either just stop talking to him, or in one case have someone else inform him that he really didn’t like him and to leave him alone.  
And his love life? Ha. He went on plenty of first dates. Never any second ones though. He honestly had mostly given up by this point. The one thing that kept him going was the black mark on his hand that covered his entire palm. The hope of someone out there being meant for him.  
His soulmate would love him. He or she would understand him and accept him just as he was. He just had to find this person. 

Castiel was a weird person. Dean realized that rather quickly. Perhaps it was the fact that Castiel never seemed concerned with the mark on Dean’s face. Or perhaps it was the stilted way he spoke, either holding Dean’s eyes for a beat too long or refusing to look at him at all. Still, there was something about his new roommate that drew Dean to him. Even when Castiel seemed to want to pull away and keep his distance. 

The first few weeks Castiel kept to himself. He cleaned up and tried to remain as quiet as possible. He was weird but he was determined to be a good roommate to make up for it and well, if he spent all his time in his room, then Dean couldn’t know for sure he was weird now could he? He couldn’t find reason to get rid of him. 

Dean wanted to spend time with his new roommate. He wanted to get to know this quirky man a bit better than just a body that paid half the rent. He wanted to get to know the person who never made comments nor looked at the left side of his face for a little too long.  
“Dude. Just sit down and join me for a movie,” Dean said as Castiel rushed to put all his dishes in the dishwasher, so he could escape to his room and leave his roommate alone to do as he wished.  
Castiel froze. “You want me to join you?” he asked bewildered. Why would this beautiful man want his presence? Surely he had numerous other people to spend time with?  
“We live together don’t we? We should get to know each other.” Dean pointed out. Castiel shifted from one foot to the other before closing the dishwasher and washing his hands. He cautiously sat down in the armchair leaving the entire couch for Dean.  
Dean smiled at him. “Alright then,” he said grinning before turning on the movie he had picked out. 

Castiel sat quietly as the movie played, while Dean seemed enthralled. It had cowboys in it. He didn’t understand the appeal, but it seemed to make Dean happy so he stayed. He wondered if Dean knew that Hollywood’s interpretation of cowboys as being these Caucasian manly men who had women fawning all over them was mostly historically inaccurate. He bit his lip. He didn’t want Dean to get mad at him and throw him out. And it wasn’t just because he needed a place to live.  
He sighed. The more he got to know Dean the more he was falling for him.  
Castiel didn’t want his heart broken, yet again. He really wanted just once for things to work out, for someone to return his feelings. But he never got what he wanted and he knew he was just repeating old patterns over and over again. His heart would break again. 

Castiel seemed confused by the movies Dean put on. Dean of course knew he had to educate him on the good ones. What kind of person could go around not knowing about some of the best movies ever made? His reactions of course made it all the better. Every question, every confused head tilt made Dean grin and his heart beat just a bit faster. 

To his surprise Dean continued to have what he called “movie night” every Friday. And he always made sure Castiel was with him. He claimed he had to “educate” him on what good movies were. Castiel was sure he would eventually get bored with him and move on. But weeks rolled into months. Dean began inviting Castiel for other things. Lunch at the Roadhouse on Saturdays where he met Dean’s brother Sam and his friends Jo, Benny and Charlie. They seemed like Castiel too. Victor and Lisa came over on Sundays to watch football. They seemed to like Dean’s new roommate as well. He knew it was only a matter of time though. They would realize how weird he was and get Dean to kick him out. 

Dean couldn’t picture Cas being violent. The thought came to him suddenly at 3 am about three months into living together. His eyes stared up at the ceiling trying to work out why that thought had popped into his head. And why he was saddened by it. He rolled over and closed his eyes. Weird middle of the night thoughts he told himself. Still that didn’t relieve the ache in his stomach. 

Time passed and Castiel continued to spend time with all of these people as well as Dean. And not once did they give off the vibe that they were only pretending. They actually seemed to care about him. Dean most of all, and he even gave him a nickname. Castiel couldn’t help but notice though that Dean always avoided touching him. 

Dean was in the grocery store when it hit him, weeks later. A woman passing had let her eyes linger over Dean’s face again with a look of pity. And that’s when Dean pieced it together. He was sad that Cas didn’t seem the type to slap someone, because, because, his thoughts paused for a brief second, because that meant he probably wasn’t Dean’s soulmate. Dean left the store in a daze without any of his items. A sick feeling lay deep in his gut. How long had he been hoping that Castiel would be his soulmate?  
He stared at him when he arrived back at the apartment. Cas was watching a documentary on cats, unaware that his roommate was watching him from where he stood in the doorway. He was doing that thing where his head was tilted to the side when he was confused.  
For a brief moment Dean was tempted to do something to make Cas mad.  
“Dean?” Cas turned around and looked up at Dean from the couch he was sitting on. As soon as he saw those blue eyes, Dean knew, he could never purposely hurt Cas. 

“You’re a weird person Cas, you know that?” Castiel stiffened at those words. It had only taken six months. Six months he had been living with Dean and he was now throwing that word at him. Sure Dean’s tone was friendly enough, but he knew it was the beginning of him pulling away. Dean glanced over and seemed to realize that Cas was holding himself stiff.  
They had been in the middle of another movie night. Yet another movie with cowboys. Cas had let it slip that historically speaking cowboys had been mostly Hispanic or Black not white and a lot of them had in fact been gay. That was when Dean responded the way he had.  
“I mean that in a good way you know,” Dean was quick to add.  
Castiel nodded. “Sure,” he mumbled.  
“Hey Cas,” Dean stood right in front of him and didn’t move until Castiel looked up at him.  
“I mean that. You’re one of my favorite people. In fact probably my favorite,” he said gently and a little hesitantly. There was a faint pink tint to his cheeks.  
Cas stared at him for a second his breath quickening. He found himself standing, which put him so close to Dean their bodies were almost touching. Almost. He found himself reaching his hand up and very gently pressing it against Dean’s cheek. Right over his soulmate mark.  
Dean took in a sharp breath. Despite living together for months, they had never touched once. There was a tingle and then when Cas pulled his hand away, both he and Dean watched the soulmate mark fade slowly away from the palm of his hand. Castiel glanced back up to see the mark disappearing from Dean’s face as well. 

Cas’ mouth widened into an O and Dean looked at him for a second before turning and fleeing. Cas could hear him in the bathroom.  
“It’s gone,” Dean exclaimed.  
Then he was back in front of Cas. “You- You,” he stopped, his eyes wide.  
“I, we,” Cas tripped over his words as they both stared at each other. 

Cas jerked a little bit when all of sudden Dean pulled him close and kissed him. He let himself relax, Dean couldn’t fake being his soulmate after all. Which meant this was real and not a cruel prank. He leaned into Dean, arms wrapping around his waist.  
He had finally found his soulmate. He smiled even as it occurred to him. 

He would be watching cowboy movies the rest of his life.


End file.
